U.S. Coast guard rescues lost dog near Upper Peninsula, returns him to family

LIME ISLAND, Mich. (WJBK) - A couple from southern Ontario has been reunited with their lost dog, after the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard cutter rescued the dog on the shore of Lime Island in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“Here is a Happy News Years story to start 2019! 9 days ago, you may recall my post regarding my daughter’s lost dog Logan,” Andy Selin of Richards Landing, Ontario posted on Facebook Thursday.

Logan, a 3-year-old white husky, wandered off on Christmas, while Logan’s owners Kailaan Walker and Lydia Selin from southern Ontario were visiting Lydia’s dad Andy and other family on St. Joseph Island, Ontario for the holiday.

Walker says Logan has a bit of wanderlust. They’ve had the dog since he was just 8 weeks old.

More than a week after Logan went missing, the crew of the USCGC Mackinaw spotted the dog Wednesday on the ice in St. Marys River after he had fallen in the water a couple times near Lime Island.

“We noticed he had on a collar,” said LTJG. Carolyn Smith. She says they thought Logan was a coyote at first because it’s rare to see domesticated animals near Lime Island, which is uninhabited. She said the whole crew knew they needed to help the dog.

When they saw Logan fell through the ice a second time and get stuck, the crew readied their Ice Rescue Team, which usually helps snowmobilers and other people who need assistance on the ice.

Before the team was deployed, Logan broke free and made it to shore. 

The crew decided to send out a search team on Lime Island around sunset, but weren’t able to make contact with the frightened dog. 

Since they weren’t able to make contact with the dog, they decided to leave him some food, as they noticed the dog was looking very skinny. They left a couple bowls of macaroni and cheese and some left over ribs that they had had for dinner aboard that night.

The crew wasn’t supposed to return to Lime Island Thursday, but plans changed and when they found themselves there again, they spotted Logan, who was more willing to come to them by then.

They brought Logan on board and had him checked out by their doctor. Although their doctor is not trained to work with animals, he communicated with an after-hours veterinarian to make sure he was treating the dog properly.

“The dog was frostbitten,” LTJG. Smith said, “but he warmed up to the crew quickly!”

They were able to contact Logan’s owners with the information on his tag.

Logan was returned to his owners Friday when the ice breaker docked in Cheboygan. 

“Thank you so much to the US Coast Guard and the crew of the USCGC Mackinaw,” Selin continued on Facebook, “Sounds like this dog is the star attraction on the ship.”

When Logan was returned the ice breakers crew gave the dog a coin of the ship on his collar, a cutterman pin, which is awarded after service on a Coast Guard ice breaker, and the Captain awarded Logan a certificate, to thank him for his time on board.

“I’m feeling so grateful to have gotten Logan back and to meet the crew,” Walker said Saturday, “I could tell he was happy to see us, but you could tell there was already a bond between him and the crew.”